Volume 29No. 4

בס״ד

21 October 2016 · 20 Tishrei 5777Shabbat ends London 6.40pm Jerusalem 6.36pm

Shabbat Chol Ha’Moed SuccotIn loving memory of Susi and Freddie Bradfield

Sara Gitel bat Mordechai Menachem ז״ל and Yaacov ben Zvi ז״ל

Cover art: Nira Spitz - niraspitz.com 1

Summary of Torah Reading: Shabbat Chol Ha’Moed Succot

1st Aliya (Kohen) – Shemot 33:12-16

After the grave sin of the Golden Calf, God had initially threatened to wipe out the nation. He then relented, allowing them to survive, but without His direct supervision. Rather, an angel would guide them. Unprepared to accept this, Moshe appeals to God to ‘accompany’ the nation, symbolising a close relationship with Him and requests that Israel retain a special status, distinct from other nations. God agrees to both requests.

2nd Aliya (Levi) – 33:17-19

Sensing a moment of Divine favour, Moshe asks God to show him a vision of His glory. God responded that no mortal could see a ‘full view’, but He would show him as much as possible. In this limited vision, God would demonstrate how to evoke His attributes of Mercy at times when the nation is in peril.

3rd Aliya (Shlishi) – 33:20-23

Moshe is told that he will experience this revelation situated in a hollowed-out rock on Mount Sinai. He would be shown only a vision of ‘God’s back’ (so to speak) but not ‘His front’. The Talmudic Sages explain that Moshe would see God enwrapped in a tallit like a chazan, wearing tefillin on His head.

4th Aliya (Revi’i) – 34:1-3

God instructs Moshe to carve out a new set of Tablets containing the same words as the first set, which Moshe broke on his way down from Mount Sinai. Moshe is instructed to go up to Mount Sinai alone.

5th Aliya (Chamishi) – 34:4-10

Moshe ascends with the new Tablets, as commanded. As promised, God teaches him the 13 Attributes of Mercy. Moshe bows in awe, then appeals to God to endow Israel with His full guidance and protection.

6th Aliya (Shishi) – 34:11-17

God iterates that Israel has to now keep its side of the relationship. After entering the Land of Israel, they must not follow the idolatrous ways of the Ca’ananite nations nor intermarry with them.

7th Aliya (Shevi’i) – 34:18-26

The mitzvah of coming to the Temple with an offering for the three festivals (Peach, Shavuot and Succot) is restated, as well as the mitzvah to redeem a first-born male child (Pidyon Ha Ben). The reading ends with the mitzvah not to mix meat and milk together.

Question: Which necessary protection is guaranteed to those who go to the Temple for the festivals? (34:24) Answer on bottom of page 6

Point to consider: What is the link between the three festivals and the previous aliyot?

Maftir from 2nd Sefer Torah

Maftir is read from a second Sefer Torah, from the section of parashat Pinchas detailing the extra offerings brought during Succot.

Haftarah

The prophet Yechezkel (Ezekiel) relates chilling details of the messianic War of God and Magog. God’s wrath will fall upon Gog. The entire earth will tremble in awe. It will be an overwhelming declaration of God’s power and might.

United Synagogue Daf HashavuahProduced by the US Living & Learning together with the Rabbinical Council of the United SynagogueEditor: Rabbi Chaim Gross Editor-in-Chief: Rabbi Baruch Davis Editorial Team: Ilana Epstein, Michael Laitner, Sharon RadleyAvailable also via email US website www.theus.org.uk ©United SynagogueTo sponsor Daf Hashavuah please contact Loraine Young on 020 8343 5653, or lyoung@theus.org.ukIf you have any comments or questions regarding Daf Hashavuah please email rabbigross@theus.org.uk

2

During the High Holy Days (Yamim Noraim), we ride a tide of emotions, including anxiety, uncertainty and fear about what awaits us in the coming year. However, on Succot, we are instructed

to rejoice on what is an intrinsically happy festival. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, our relationship with God is defined by our recognition of His Kingship, exalting the King of kings and seeking forgiveness for our misdeeds. Yet as we enter the joyous festival of Succot, we are given the opportunity to focus on another crucial aspect of this relationship, His protection, which is ever-present in our lives.

The succah, as a makeshift hut in which we dwell for 7 days, teaches us to place our trust in God and focus on the fact that we reside under His constant protection. The Talmud (Succah 11b) records a disagreement between the Sages about the end of the verse: “You shall dwell in succot for seven days, so that your generations shall know that I made the Children of Israel dwell in succot [in the desert]” (Vaykira 23:42). Which ‘succot’ in the desert is the verse actually referring to, and asking us to recall every year? Rabbi Eliezer states that these ‘succot’ were the clouds of glory (ananei ha’kavod), which miraculously surrounded and protected the Jewish nation as they journeyed through the desert. However, according to Rabbi Akiva, the verse is referring to the actual huts that the Jews lived in throughout their time in the wilderness.

It can be suggested that the two opinions are not mutually exclusive. The Aruch HaShulchan (Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein d. 1908) explains that for Rabbi Eliezer, the commandment is to focus on the greatness of God, commemorating

the great miracle He performed with the clouds of glory, thus reminding us of His infinite kindness and protection. Rabbi Akiva emphasises the greatness of the Jewish people. Their faith in God was such that they travelled in the barren wilderness and resided in mere temporary, fallible booths, trusting that God would protect and take care of them. We therefore see both sides of the relationship between God and the Jewish people. Not only was He responsible for their protection, but this was something that they recognised and appreciated.

The goal of the commandment to ‘dwell in booths’ is that we too reach the understanding that, rather than the sturdy walls and solids roofs above our heads, it is God who affords us constant protection and watches over us. While we must make every effort to ensure that our basic needs are met, we strive to have faith and trust that we are ultimately in the shelter of God’s hand. It is this special protection, symbolised by the succah, that has ensured the continued existence and survival of the Jewish people.

A Time of Protection by Rabbi James Proops, Assistant Rabbi, Mill Hill United Synagogue

In loving memory of Chaya Rachel bat Moshe Ben-Tzion 3

The desire to own things has been a part of human nature for as long as we can trace. Nevertheless, we seem to have taken it to new levels in the 21st century. A few years ago, thousands of people began to

post on Instagram, using #pocketdump and #whatsinmybag , displaying some of the things they carry around with them every day. It was a fascinating insight into what people feel is important to them and how many things we believe we cannot leave the house without. Perhaps we can draw a lesson from Succot, and specifically the four species (arba’ah minim), about how we see ownership and what it is that we really ‘own’.

The central ‘objects’ of Succot are the succah and the four species – the lulav (palm branch), etrog (citron), hadassim (myrtle branches) and aravot (willow branches). There are many similarities between the succah and the four species, including their link to nature and outdoors. Yet there is one major difference in the details of their laws. No one is required to build a succah – you could simply use, for example, your neighbour’s succah for the whole week. Sometimes a succah is built in a public space, open to anyone for use. Yet the four species must be owned by the user in order to fulfil the mitzvah, at least on the first day of the festival. Why is there such a requirement? Why can’t we just borrow them from a friend, or use a ‘communal set’?

Perhaps the answer lies in understanding the depth behind the succah and the four species. A succah is our temporary dwelling. It is there to remind us how vulnerable we are. Although we may slip into reliance on our material possessions, the succah is there to help us remember how transient these things are. Therefore we are not required to own the succah – it is there to help us detach ourselves from the material, not to

exercise our control over it. While we normally may view all of our belongings as our own, on Succot we are reminded that, in a certain sense, they do not really belong to us at all.

The four species, however, represent something very different. Each of the four species characterises a different type of Jew; bringing them together symbolises the bond we strive to create as a community. Therefore we are commanded to own them and to feel a sense of personal responsibility for them. It can be tempting to turn away from the problems of others and tell ourselves that they have nothing to do with us. On Succot we are told that we should feel as though every Jew ‘belongs to us’ – we should treat their problems as our own and do everything we can to help them.

There is nothing wrong with treating ourselves to a nice watch, bracelet or smartphone. Yet one of the central lessons of Succot is that what we may view as our own is actually transient and should not be a central part of our identity. On the other hand, the people around us, who we may not naturally feel responsibility for, are in fact strongly connected to us, requiring our attention and a sense that that they are within our domain.

Why Must I Own the Four Species? by Rabbi Ben Kurzer, Assistant Rabbi, Edgware United Synagogue

In loving memory of Binyamin Peretz ben Yaacov 4

The Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), written by Shlomo Ha’Melech (King Solomon), is read either on Shabbat Chol Hamoed Succot, or on Shemini Atzeret, if there is no Shabbat Chol Hamoed. The Book contains many serious

and sobering messages. This provides an explanation for the custom of reading this Book at this time of year - to ensure we do not allow ourselves to get too carried away with the joy of Succot, to the point of acting inappropriately.

One specific example of this serious theme can be found in the Rambam’s (Maimonides d. 1204) understanding and interpretation of the verse in the final chapter of Kohelet which states: “So remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the bad days come, and those years arrive of which you will say, ‘I have no desire in them’” (12:1). The Rambam quotes this verse in reference to two types of teshuvah.

Complete teshuvah (repentance) is only achieved when a person confronts the same situation in which they sinned and has the potential to commit the sin again, yet nevertheless abstains. Such a person has achieved complete teshuvah whilst still possessing the drives and lust of their younger years and managing to abstain from that sin. This is derived from the reference to ‘youth’ in the verse, defined by the continuation, “before the bad days come” – i.e. old age. Thus, the person did not abstain because of a lack of strength, rather because of their teshuvah alone.

However, the Rambam continues to explain that if one does not repent until old age, at a time when they are incapable of doing what they did before, the accomplishment is an incomplete, albeit still high spiritual level, of teshuvah. The fact that it is never too late to do teshuvah is supported by the following verse in Kohelet (12:2) which states, “Before the sun, the light, the moon or the stars are darkened and the cloud return after the rain”,

which is referring to the day of death. As long as there is life, it is never too late!

Perhaps this verse, urging us to “remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the bad days come” also offers an additional reason for reading Kohelet at this time. We are reminded of the process of teshuvah we have gone through only a few days previously, during the Days of Awe (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur). This too has an element of ‘youth’. We repented in the ‘youth of our new year’ – Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We are encouraged by this verse, and by Kohelet as a whole, to maintain our gains and not to let them slip over Succot. The lessons we learned and the commitments that we took on, if neglected, will be much more difficult to claw back later on in the year (‘the bad days’).

The Book of Kohelet by Rabbi Shlomo Odze, Associate Rabbi, South Hampstead United Synagogue

In loving memory of Esther Rivka bat Yechezkel 5

Preparation for Inspiration by Rabbi Chaim Gross, Editor, Daf Hashavua

Every Succot, the Temple hosted an event of unparalleled joy, called the Simchat Beit Ha’Shoeva, which included fire-throwers, jugglers and throngs of people dancing and singing (Babylonian Talmud Succah 51b).

The morning Temple service during Succot differed from the rest of the year. In addition to wine being poured on the altar, water was also poured. Shoeva literally means ‘drawing’ - the common understanding is that the Simchat Beit Ha’Shoeva celebrated the drawing of these sanctified waters.

However, the Jerusalem Talmud (Succah 5:1) offers an alternative understanding. There were individuals who came to this simcha at the Temple and were so inspired that they would ‘draw’ their prophetic abilities from the exhilarating experience. Yonah, a well-known figure, who we read about on Yom Kippur, is identified as one such individual.

The Jerusalem Talmud offers some thought-provoking information regarding Yonah’s experience:

1. The 3rd century Talmudic sages Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yehuda bar Nachman were employed every week to ‘warm up’ the crowds in shul with speeches before the main lecturer, Rabbi Yochanan, took centre stage. One Shabbat, instead of telling a story, they debated which shevet (tribe) Yonah was from. Was he from Asher or Zevulun?

2. The Talmud informs us that Yonah came to Jerusalem on Succot to fulfil his mitzvah of aliyah le’regel (pilgrimage to the Temple). This was a mitzvah incumbent on all Jews in Temple times.

Being in the Temple during Succot, particularly at the Simchat Beit Ha’Shoeva, must have been awe-inspiring and uplifting. For someone like Yonah, who had the potential to become a prophet, it was the right place at the right time.

However, the Talmud, using Yonah as an example, is stressing that it was not good enough just to ‘turn up’. Yonah came with a plan, to fulfil the mitzvah of aliyah le’regel. That mitzvah had specific requirements, such as bringing certain offerings, with their very detailed halachot, as well as staying in the Holy City for a minimum time. He came prepared, and was therefore able to ‘draw’ the most from the experience.

This now renders the debate between Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Yehuda bar Nachman about Yonah’s origins more understandable. The tribe of Zevulun hailed from the area around the modern city of Nazareth, whereas the tribe of Asher was situated in the north-western frontier, stretching into modern day Lebanon. It would have been a further distance if Yonah was coming to Jerusalem from Asher, than if he came from Zevulun. These Sages understood that Yonah’s geographical position was essential to his preparation, as he was only able to be inspired enough to reach the level of prophecy by his Temple experience because of his careful advanced planning on his journey.

Though we do not aspire to prophecy, this lesson of Yonah at the Simchat Beit Ha’Shoeva can speak to us in our modern lives. We may find ourselves in situations where there is an opportunity to enjoy some spiritual inspiration, such as at shul or another place where we can have a moment of meaning. The more we are prepared, such as learning about the prayers, or how to apply Jewish teachings to the situation we are in, the more likely we are to maximise the opportunity.

In loving memory of Yosef ben Shmuel 6

In loving memory of Reb Shimon Michoel ben Hechover Reb Yitzchok

In loving memory of Shoshana bat Itamar Elbogen